Nicolas Cage is in the midst of a sort of horror renaissance. Not that the prolific actor ever strayed far from any particular genre, churning out multiple films a year that run the gamut, but it’s in horror that he’s received praise and reappraisal thanks to films like Mandy and Color Out of Space. With recent announcements of Wally’s Wonderland, where he’ll take on demonic animatronics, his work in horror doesn’t appear to be slowing down. For all of the grandeur performances the actor has delivered in his career, his turn as Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss doesn’t get near as much consideration as it should. If you were to meet somewhere at the intersection of American Psycho and Martin, you’d likely find this cult gem.
Cage’s Peter Loew is a New York City literary agent. Like American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman, Loew is the epitome of ‘80s yuppie narcissism and greed, one that treats sexual partners like disposable playthings. He works all day and picks up lovers at the club by night, but spends a few hours on the weekend scaring his psychiatrist with terrifying confessions of his mental state. Like how a bat that found its way into his apartment turned him on, not the attractive woman he’d brought home.
When Loew meets Rachel (Jennifer Beals), their tryst turns into something more bizarre when she reveals her vampire fangs and bites him. It sparks a downward spiral for Loew, who believes himself to be becoming a vampire. He wears sunglasses to avoid the sun. He can’t see himself in the mirror. He hallucinates. He even buys novelty vampire fangs to compensate for his lack of developed teeth. Then there’s Rachel, his vampire master that seduces and taunts him throughout the story. Loew was an eccentric before his tryst with her, but after he’s become a madman. It’s his poor assistant Alva (Maria Conchita Alonso) that suffers for it the most.
Vampire’s Kiss, thanks to Cage’s eccentric performance, has provided a significant source of memes, but the truth is that it’s his performance that makes the film work. The actor has compared his acting style to that of old Hollywood troubadours with larger-than-life presentations. Cage certainly has delivered grandeur characters over his robust career, but according to the actor on the DVD’s commentary track, Peter Loew marks one of his favorite roles of all time. Vampire’s Kiss is a character study; its narrative unfurls slowly to unfold a slow deterioration of a man so empty and lonely he’s driven to vampire obsessed madness. The story demands a magnetic lead.
Just coming off his success with Moonlight, Cage’s reps begged him not to take the role of Loew. He bowed out, the part was given to Judd Nelson, and then Cage changed his mind. He couldn’t shake the character and asked to come back. Fortuitous events lined up, and thus Cage was reinstated for the part.
As for lines, Cage never deterred from Joseph Minion’s script. What he did do, though, was bring an eccentric physicality to the character. The dance club scene in the third act that sees him on the prowl for prey? His strange movements are directly inspired by Count Orlok in Nosferatu and German expressionist horror. The weird, yuppie voice for the character? He was aiming for a distinct, continental sound that he felt was befitting of this NYC literary agent character, much to the worry of producers.
The only real ad-lib or off-script moment Cage brought to the character was the infamous eating of the cockroach. The script called for Loew to suck on a raw egg, but Cage felt eating the bug would add shock value. Cage really did eat cockroaches for the scene. Director Bierman wanted a second take; therefore, a second bug getting chomped. I have a hunch this is one scene that doesn’t feature much acting.
Though Bierman and Cage knew precisely the type of film they were making, a profoundly dark psychological comedy, the distributor didn’t get it. Scenes were trimmed, marketing was weak, and Vampire’s Kiss flopped hard upon its theatrical release. Cage was well on his way to stardom, so the film didn’t hurt his career. Over the years, it did amass a cult following, and Cage’s over-the-top performance alone provided an endless source for entertainment.
Peter Loew deserves to be in the same conversation with Patrick Bateman. Both narcissistic NYC yuppies with eccentric behaviors and distinct ways of speaking, and both mentally deteriorating to the point of homicide- imagined and real. Both characters feature tremendously committed performances behind them, too, though Cage takes risks to an extreme – much to our enjoyment.
Loew is a character that’s unlikable from the start. We’re not meant to like him, but it’s Cage’s unique choices that provide access to the character. Loew is an awful person, especially for his cruelty of Alva. Still, the physicality and strangeness of Cage’s performance make it easier to wrap our heads around the character’s unhinged mental state. Cage’s current horror slate offers up fantastic roles garnering praise, but Vampire’s Kiss shows that always should’ve been the case.